Royal Caribbean Execs Honored by ASTA

Richard Fain, Chairman and CEO of Royal Caribbean Group

Richard Fain Honored

The American Society of Travel Advisors (ASTA), which advocates on behalf of the travel agency community at all levels of government, honored its most active members for their participation in this mission at the 2021 ASTA Global Convention in Chicago, IL last week. 

The ASTA Advocacy Dinner, which takes place each year during the Global Convention, was held at the historic Palmer House Hilton in downtown Chicago on Tuesday, August 24th.  Top industry leaders and travel professionals were on hand  for an inspiring evening to celebrate ASTA's influence in shaping the policies affecting the retail travel business today. 

During the Advocacy Dinner, ASTA bestowed a rare honor and celebrated Richard Fain, Chairman and CEO of Royal Caribbean Group, with ASTA’s Lifetime Achievement Award. This marks only the fourth time that ASTA has given this award in fifteen years. 

 “The board of directors voted unanimously to bestow the 2021 Lifetime Achievement award on Richard Fain because of his obvious belief in and affection for the travel advisor community,” said Zane Kerby, President & CEO of ASTA. “Royal Caribbean’s protection of commissions, $40 million zero-interest loans for travel advisors and quietly hosting first responders in the wake of the Surfside Condominium tragedy, are just a few of the reasons that we’re honored to present Richard with this award.”

Royal Caribbean Supports ASTA

Vicki Freed, Senior Vice President of Sales, Trade Support & Services at Royal Caribbean International, honored ASTA’s Advocacy efforts by donating $100,000 to ASTA’s advocacy mission on behalf of Royal Caribbean Group. Richard Fain added an additional $100,000 personal donation to support ASTA’s mission to protect and defend travel advisors. 

Vicki Freed Also Honored

Royal Caribbean Group, Vicki Freed, and Richard Fain have been strong supporters of travel advisors for years, and especially throughout the pandemic. Vicki Freed and the entire Royal Caribbean organizations have been instrumental in the industry return to service.  Besides the efforts recognized by ASTA, in bestowing the award to Richard Fain, Vicki Freed and her team have kept travel advisors updated and  in fact Vicki Freed just held her 70th Coffee Talk with travel advisors today. 

It is fitting that the next morning, Vicki Freed, received, for the fourth consecutive time, ASTA's Partner Representative of the Year, during a general session of the ASTA Global Convention.

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Candid Chat with Royal Caribbean Chairman Richard Fain

We just attended an industry briefing with Dondra Ritzenthaler, Senior Vice President of Sales, Trade Support & Services Celebrity Cruises and her special guest Richard Fain, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Royal Caribbean Group.

Before we get to today's chat, we'd like to personally thank Royal Caribbean Group and Richard Fain in particular,  for his leadership and constantly keeping their travel partners updated throughout the entire pandemic crisis.  His videos, communications, and guest appearances on weekly briefings from Royal Caribbean and Celebrity Cruises has been crucial to our ability to keep our guests updated on latest developments.

Dondra began the chat by thanking Richard for joining us and for his continued communications throughout the pandemic.  She then asked him if he would have done anything differently.   Richard said it's important to "look forward and not back".   

He said that he knew that communication would be key.   He knew that people wanted to know what they were thinking and transparency was key.   He feels he got great value from the communication because it forced him to think about where they were going.

He cited the creation of the Healthy Sail Panel with experts in many fields was a critical step in the return to service.

Celebrity Edge Returns to Service

An Emotional Return to Service on Celebrity Edge

Next Dondra asked him about his experience on the first sailing of Celebrity Edge as it returned to service.   Richard said "it was a very emotional moment".  He was onboard one day before passengers, essentially alone with the crew.   As crew greeted him, they were in tears.  

Day 2 of his time onboard, they greeted the first guest which again was very emotional.   The passengers on this first sailing included Celebrity's most loyal guests, trade and press, and Royal Caribbean employees. 

The consensus of the guests was that it was an emotional moment, but also it felt so normal. 

Continual Improvement - Not a "New Normal"

Many protocols are behind the scenes, such as the improved ventilation systems and enhanced medical facilities.   Guests don't even notice the difference.  With the enhanced protocols we could live life normally.

He acknowledged that there have been isolated cases, but it has been better than you'll find across the United States today.   The reason for that is that they control the environment.   Guests are fully vaccinated, social distancing is possible while still allowing for a great vacation experience.  It's one of the safest vacations you can take today.

2021 - 2022 Sailings Open for Booking

This is a unique time in the history of the cruise industry.   The industry has always put health and safety first, but with the new protocols, they have taken it to new heights.  The industry will be better for the improvements made to date and those that will follow.

Ships are sailing with fewer passengers allowing for an even more personal experience as the happy crew are eager to provide the best vacation experience possible.   Why not check out some of the current offers below and let us plan your next cruise vacation?

Current Celebrity Cruises Offers

Current Royal Caribbean Offers

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Odyssey Delivered to Royal Caribbean Virtually

Royal Caribbean Group is known for their Tradition, Innovation, and Revolution. Today all three of those traits were observed when they virtually took delivery of their newest Quantum class ship, Odyssey of the Seas from German shipbuilder Meyer Werft in a ceremony that was held virtually on Zoom with dignitaries in various locations, live from Odyssey bridge and deck, along with performances live from Quantum of the Seas. As far as I'm aware this is a first for the cruise industry.

After introductions of the VIPs from Royal Caribbean and Meyer Werft, the traditional lowering of the flag of the country of the shipbuilder (German flag) and the raising of the country the ship sails under (Bahamas flag) was done. 

Then the Royal Caribbean and U.S. flags were raised while the anthem was sung by Whitney Drake from the Royal Theater onboard Quantum of the Seas. It was a very stirring rendition of the anthem.

Next was the traditional blessing of the ship done by Father Sanford Sears of Seafarers' House in Fort Lauderdale. The ceremony concluded with a live performance from Two70 on Quantum of the Seas.

The broadcast concluded with a Q&A session with President & CEO, Michael Bayley responding to a few questions. 

More than 10,000 people worked together to turn dreams of this new ship into reality. Odyssey is the 25th ship in the Royal Caribbean fleet. She will begin sailing to Greece from Israel and when the U.S. ports reopen she will homeport from Fort Lauderdale, FL. sailing to the Caribbean. 

Watch this video to see the entire ceremony. Congratulations to Royal Caribbean and Meyer Werft for this great accomplishment during a pandemic.

 

View Odyssey Of the SeasSailings

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Come Sail Away with Royal

We look at the current state of the cruise industry through the lens of a CEO of one of the largest cruise lines. We end with an optimistic video, which was made almost a year ago, by their entertainment department .

Industry Update

As a professional travel advisor, part of my job is to stay informed, so that I can keep my guests updated with the latest information during these unprecedented times.

This morning I attended the 49th trade update presented by Royal Caribbean since the pandemic started.  These weekly updates have been very beneficial to me and the rest of the trade industry.  Thank you Royal Caribbean Group for your ongoing commitment and efforts during these times. 

Richard Fain, Chairman and CEO of Royal Caribbean Group, was guest speaker for this session. This image captured his expressions during his various past appearances, with the latest one reflecting joy about the progress made in resuming operations safely.

In fact, Royal Caribbean Group has already had 100,000 guests onboard. With the new protocols in place, mainly testing and contract tracing, they have only had 10 positive cases of COVID-19 without any major disruption to other passengers or countries visited.  This is mainly due to the ability to isolate anyone that is showing symptoms and identify anyone they were in contact with.  The industry as a whole has had 350,000 guests sailing successfully since gradually resuming sailings.

We Control the Environment

You might be wondering why there has been such a low percentage of positive cases among these 100,000 passengers.   Richard Fain explained that since they are in control of the environment, everyone is tested and contract tracing can identify any possible risk from exposure.  He went on to say that the contract tracing technology being used is more effective that what is used on land.   There you would be contacted by phone by someone and most likely you wouldn't even know who you had been in contact with.  On the ship, they can determine who you were in contact with, and for how long, using the technology put in place.  Impacted individuals can quickly be identified and isolated keeping the remaining guests safely protected and not impacting their vacations.

Time to Move On

Back in October, 2020, CDC issued a Conditional Sail Order which consisted of four phases.  We are still in Phase 1 with no direction regarding remaining phases.  This plan is out of date, therefore Royal Caribbean has been working with health experts and various governments to put safe cruising protocols in place.

The various Public Health agencies have detailed information about infectious illnesses and the cruise lines have the data about the cruise industry and protocols.   Cooperation and dialog has been very valuable, as well as science and technology, in creating a revised plan to safely resume sailing.

Royal Caribbean has announced homeport changes which will allow them to continue their gradual return to sailing.  The latest announcement has sailings embarking from Bermuda starting in June (more on that in another post).

Delivering Great Experience

As you can imagine there were many questions during this session.  One agent asked how crew members were holding up.  Mr. Fain acknowledged that it had been hard on everyone, especially in the beginning with flight restrictions preventing crew members from getting home.  He said that "while the men and women that deliver the great cruise experience had it very difficult, their response was a joy to behold."  Royal Caribbean recently had a survey and within 12 hours they had overwhelming responses with the crew anxious to return.  He said "I often say that I have the best job in the world.  I work with a team that really cares."

Passengers who are disembarking the cruises, that have begun, are giving Royal Caribbean high marks.  The cruise experience that Royal is known for is still being delivered.  Another technology item that is making a difference is Muster 2.0, which allows passengers to view the safety video at their leisure and checkin at the muster station during a pre-defined period of time.  This eliminates social distancing issues while still maintaining the mandatory safety requirements.

Who is Cruising Now

There had been an assumption made that when cruising resumed, the majority of the cruisers would be well-seasoned veteran cruisers.  In Singapore for example, 80% of the guests are first time cruisers.  In Germany, first time cruisers are at or above the level they were at prior to COVID-19.

What Destinations 

Several questions were asked about various cruise destinations.   He indicated that there will be a Europe season this summer, but it won't be the same as usual.  Royal Caribbean is still working through the various regulatory hurdles.   He mentioned that MSC and Costa are currently operating in Europe and Royal Caribbean's Israel to Greece itinerary will be very popular.

Alaska's cruise season is still in question.  There has been support by several members of Congress and others, mostly on behalf of businesses in Alaska.   The cruise season is short, so you can't just postpone it for a few months.  One issue is the it takes months to prepare a ship's sailing so getting timely permissions is crucial. 

Royal Caribbean Entertainment

A year ago the world learned about Zoom meetings and soon they discovered you perform music as well.  The Royal Caribbean Entertainment team produced this video with performers all over the world to share an inspirational message.  The video ends with "We'll Be Back".  

This is the last time this video will be seen in its current form.   Royal Caribbean is Back (sailing again)!!

 

Related Posts 

Cruise Industry Leaders Share Their Vision
CDC Publishes Conditional Sailing Order

Reassuring Safe to Cruise

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I recently completed extensive training and have become Travel Safety Verified. As your dedicated Travel Advisor, your safety is our priority, and it's our job to ensure you have the necessary information you need to give you confidence and peace of mind when making your future travel plans. Click the link to review our Travel Safety program with valuable resources that will answer many of your questions.

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